Plasmapheresis apparatus and procedures are often developed for the purpose of therapeutic therapies and plasma collections. In the plasmapheresis process, blood is removed from the body through needles or implanted catheters. The blood received is then sent through a cell separator to separate the plasma from other blood cells. In the therapeutic procedure, the blood cells are returned to the person under treatment. The plasma containing antibodies collected is either treated and then returned back to the patient or replaced with replacement plasma, albumin, or saline with added proteins. The plasmapheresis therapeutic procedure can be an effective treatment for autoimmune-disorders and other diseases, including Guillain-Barre syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Goodpasture's syndrome, hyperviscosity syndromes, and myasthenia gravis.
The plasma is able to be collected and stored for other uses. The plasma collected solely for the purpose of further manufacturing is called Source Plasma. Generally, the donors of the plasma need to go through a health check to ensure the safety of the plasma collected and the health of the donors. Two methods are often used for the plasma collection, including a manual method and an automated method. The manual method first collects blood from the donors. Next, the collected blood is separated by centrifuge machines in separate rooms. The plasma separated from the blood cells is gathered in a separate container. The red blood is returned back to the donor. The danger of this method is that there is a likelihood of returning red blood cells back to the wrong donor, which can cause a serious transfusion reaction. The automated method is similar to the manual method, but the difference is that the automated method performs all steps in a machine. As such, the chances of receiving the wrong red blood cells are eliminated.
Although plasmapheresis procedures and apparatuses have been used with human bodies, no plasmapheresis apparatus or method is specifically designed to be used with non-human being animals.